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Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies is a 1954 novel by Sir William Golding. It is an allegory novel that explores the tale of a group of young boys who are stranded alone on an island and develop into savagery as they begin to lose their innocence and civilization. The book received some critical praise, although it originally sold only 3,000 copies, didn't receive a lot of interest, and then went out of print in 1955. But within the next few decades, the novel would sell more copies internationally and became a widely taught novel in schools and college courses. It also serves as a perfect example of human nature vs savagery. Plot summary In the midst of a nuclear war, a British airplane evacuating a group of young schoolboys crashes onto a Pacific island, killing the pilot but leaving many of the boys survivors. One of them, a tall, fair-haired boy named Ralph, makes his way out of a jungle and onto a lagoon, followed by another survivor, a fat, asthmatic boy nicknamed Piggy. The boys discuss the situation that is going on in their world, before one of them finds a conch shell. Ralph blows into it like a horn, and all of the boys come out onto the beach. The boys decide to vote for a chief to keep in charge of the group until they are rescued, so they choose Ralph. He then assigns Jack Merridew, the leader of the choir boys, as leader of the hunters. After exploring the island, Ralph declares that they must build a signal fire so it can attract any passing ships and save them. The boys attempt to make their first fire by using Piggy's glasses to ignite the flames, but it goes out of control and burns most of the jungle on the island, while one of the youngest boys suddenly disappears but likely burned to death. The boys spend most of their time playing and swimming. Ralph struggles to keep the signal fire going and building shelters, and Jack and the hunters try to hunt their first pig they find, but had failed. One day, Ralph and Piggy spot a ship in the horizon, but also saw that the signal fire is not burning. They rush to the top of the mountainous hill where it is located, but the ship soon disappears from view. It was the hunters' responsibility to watch the fire, and they are coming out with a pig they just hunted. Ralph confronts Jack about not watching the fire but the hunter leader hits Piggy in the face in frustration. Ralph calls for a meeting in an attempt to restore order and set things right. The youngest boys (called "littleluns") began experiencing nightmares and claim that they think a beast is roaming around the island, which frightens everyone, including the oldest boys (called "biguns"). Later that night, when all the boys were asleep, a military plane battle occurs in the sky. A dead parachutist falls from above and lands in the trees on the island. Sam and Eric, the twins who are now watching the signal, notice the shadow of the beast and they run back to the camp to report what they have seen. The boys head out on a hunting expedition. Ralph and Jack go up the mountain and spot the parachutist and think it is the beast. The next morning, another meeting is held, where Ralph and Jack describe what they have witnessed. Jack wants Ralph to step down as chief because he is a coward, but everyone refuses to vote Ralph out of power. Jack leaves the group, and some of the boys soon go to join him as he declares himself leader. They hunt and kill a wild pig, and leave its severed head as an offering to the beast. Afterwards, a quiet and timid boy named Simon spots the head and hallucinates. The head begins to speak and he sees it as The Lord of the Flies. It tells him that it exists within all men and not something they can physically hunt and kill, then Simon faints. When he wakes up, he sees the parachutist's body and decides to tell it to the others. Jack, his hunters and all the other boys are holding a tribal feast, and spot Simon coming towards them. Thinking he is the beast and in a frenzied mood, they all attack and kill Simon. The next day, Ralph and his group talk about what they had just done. Later on, Jack and his hunters attack them and steal Piggy's glasses. Ralph and his only allies left, Piggy and the twins Samneric, head over to Castle Rock to get the glasses back, where Jack and his hunters had set up fort. Ralph tries to maintain order, but he and Jack began fighting. During the fight, a hunter named Roger rolls a giant boulder at Piggy, killing him and destroying the conch shell. Sam and Eric are captured and tortured. Ralph hides from the hunters, but Jack and his tribe set the whole island on fire to find and hunt him. Ralph runs from the savaged tribe until he arrives at the beach, where the fire has attracted the ship of a British naval officer. The boys all come out and stop when they see the officer. The man questions the boys what they were doing and if it was a game. Ralph tries to explain everything but begins to sob of the loss of his innocence, and the other boys sob, too. Characters Ralph- The main protagonist and the chief. He is a handsome, fair-haired boy who is determined to keep order and civilization right, including building huts on the beach and keeping the signal fire going. Unfortunately, he cannot keep the boys from descending into savagery and chaos. Piggy- A obese, asthmatic boy who serves as Ralph's closest, second-in-command. Despite his obesity and weakness, he is the most smartest and intelligent of the group, yet he is bullied and treated as an outcast by everyone else. Jack- The main antagonist. He is the leader of the choir boys/hunters, but wants to be chief himself. He becomes vile and barbaric as the story progresses, and by the time he forms his own tribe, he has become cruel and bloodthirsty, his childhood innocence corrupted by savagery. Simon- An odd, sensitive boy in the schoolboys' group. Unlike them, Simon is kind, good-hearted boy who is helpful to Ralph and offers generosity to the boys. He also prefers to spend some of his quiet time alone in a beautiful, serene spot on the island than take part in the fun activities. Roger- One of Jack's important allies and his personal lieutenant. Like his leader, Roger is cruel and sadistic and enjoys hurting the others boys. He ends up killing Piggy and breaking the conch shell. Sam and Eric- Identical twin boys who are the most loyal and helpful to Ralph. They are often called "Samneric" for short since they both share the same entity. They always do everything together and remain close to Ralph until they are captured and tortured by Jack's tribe. Writing History/Reception William Golding enlisted in the British Royal Navy during WWII. During his years in the army, he witnessed the harsh reality of humanity and nature, and it began to have an influence on him. He believed that humans are not always kind and even young children can be exposed to savagery and cruelty and came up with the idea that innocent beginnings would end in violence and tragedy. He began writing Lord of the Flies in the mid 1950s just as WWII ended and the Cold War began. It was rejected by over twenty publishers until Faber and Faber agreed to publish it in 1954. The novel wasn't very successful and only sold less than about 3,000 copies before going out of print in 1955. Soon afterwards, the novel became successful with British and American readers, and the minor success of Lord of the Flies would launch Golding's career into writing. It would also become one of the most important and influential literary works of the 20th century, as well as being a popular read in high school and college literary classrooms. It is also worth noting that Lord of the Flies is a parody to some familiar fiction stories. For example, Golding had written the novel as a parody to R.M. Ballantyne's 1847 novel, The Coral Island, which depicts the tale of three boys stranded on a deserted island and how they managed to survive with their good wits and intelligence. It is apparent that Golding himself decided to put a twist of this children's story and turn it into a darker, allegory version. Other comparisons to the novel include Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson, which are also survival stories, and that Lord of the Flies shared those themes that ended up going wrong for the main characters. Themes Symbols Foreshadowing * Piggy being frail, obese and vulnerable without his glasses. Foreshadows his untimely death by Jack's hunters. * Fire being used for the first time by the boys. Foreshadows the fire burning part of a jungle and eventually the entire island. * Ralph, Jack and Simon push a boulder off a cliff on their hike of the island and Roger throws a rock at Piggy. Foreshadows Roger killing Piggy in the same style by pushing a boulder at him. * The Lord of the Flies tells Simon that he will have fun with him on the island. Foreshadows Simon's brutal death at the hands of the savaged hunters Adaptations External Links https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/ https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Lord-of-the-Flies/ https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/l/lord-of-the-flies/book-summary https://www.gradesaver.com/lord-of-the-flies https://www.thoughtco.com/lord-of-the-flies-overview-4581321 https://www.litcharts.com/lit/lord-of-the-flies https://www.shmoop.com/lord-of-the-flies/ Category:British Literature Category:20th-century novels Category:Allegory novels Category:Novels Category:Psychological novels